Robert Ellsworth Upp, 92, of Hutchinson, died May 22, 2009, at Mennonite Manor in South Hutchinson. He was born April 9, 1917, in Ottumwa, Iowa, the son of Jay Glenn and Clarissa H. Porter Upp.

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May 23, 2009 at 12:01 AMMay 23, 2009 at 6:00 PM

He was a 1935 graduate of Ottumwa, Iowa, High School, a 1939 graduate of Carleton College in Minnesota, and a 1952 graduate of the University of Missouri School of Law at Kansas City.

He practiced law in Hutchinson from 1952 through 2008. He was admitted to practice law in the Supreme Court of Kansas in February 1952, the United States District Court in December 1952, and the United States Court of Appeals at Denver, Colorado in June 1962. He was a member of the Reno County Bar Association, the Kansas Bar Association, where he received a 50-year membership recognition in 2007, and the American Bar Association.

He was a member of Trinity United Methodist Church, serving on various boards, as well as teaching the Fidelis Sunday School Class and being active in the United Methodist Men. Robert was a member of the Kansas West Conference Board of Pensions for the United Methodist Church and from 1962 to 1994 was active in the ecumenical church services held during the Kansas State Fair. He was a member of the YMCA board of Hutchinson and was active in the campaign to build the indoor swimming pool, and for many years was involved in the YMCA Camp Wood at Elmdale, Kansas. He was active with the Hutchinson Kiwanis Club and the Kiwanis Foundation, and the Salvation Army Board for the last 40 years. In 2000, Robert and wife Neva Jane co-chaired the Capital Campaign for the new Salvation Army Building at 700 North Walnut. He was elected to the Hutchinson City Commission in 1963 and served two terms, during which he served as the Mayor of Hutchinson in 1967.

Robert was a veteran of the U.S. Navy, serving as a Lt. Commander in the Pacific Theater and stateside in the Seabees. Robert was a member of the area Navy League and the American Legion Lysle Rishel Post No. 68.

Robert married Neva Jane Manock on December 29, 1948, in Chicago, Illinois. She survives. Other survivors include: a son, David E., Jabalpur, India; a daughter, Sarah Godbey and her husband Dr. Jim Godbey, Dodge City; three grandsons, Corey Godbey and wife Marina, Dodge City, Paul E. Godbey, Ferney-Voltaire, France, and Daniel Upp and his wife Heather, Uruma, Okinawa, Japan; two granddaughters, Laura Kurniadi and husband Henokh, Wichita, and Hannah Upp, New York, New York; four great-grandchildren, Caleb and Melissa Godbey, and Samantha and Jacob Kurniadi. He was preceded in death by his parents, a grandson, Christopher Upp, and a sister-in-law, Dorothy V. Manock.

Funeral will be at 1 p.m. Thursday, May 28, 2009, at Trinity United Methodist Church, with the Rev. Pat Ault-Duell presiding. Friends may sign the register from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday at Elliott Mortuary, Hutchinson. Burial will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday June 3, 2009, in Ottumwa Cemetery, Ottumwa, Iowa, with Dr. Jim Godbey presiding. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to the YMCA Camp Wood, Trinity United Methodist Church, or the Kiwanis Foundation, all in care of Elliott Mortuary, 1219 N. Main, Hutchinson, KS 67501.

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